New Release: Sellars, 'Crimes against Peace' and International Law

In 1946, the judges at the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg
declared 'crimes against peace' – the planning, initiation or waging of
aggressive wars – to be 'the supreme international crime'. At the time,
the prosecuting powers heralded the charge as being a legal milestone,
but it later proved to be an anomaly arising from the unique
circumstances of the post-war period. This study traces the idea of
criminalising aggression, from its origins after the First World War,
through its high-water mark at the post-war tribunals at Nuremberg and
Tokyo, to its abandonment during the Cold War. Today, a similar charge –
the 'crime of aggression' – is being mooted at the International
Criminal Court, so the ideas and debates that shaped the original charge
of 'crimes against peace' assume new significance and offer valuable
insights to lawyers, policy-makers and scholars engaged in international
law and international relations.

And the table of contents:

1. The emergence of the idea of aggression
2. The quest for control
3.
The creation of a crime
4. Innovation and orthodoxy at Nuremberg
5.
The Allies and an ad hoc charge
6. The elimination of Japanese
militarism
7. Questions of self-defence
8. Divisions on the bench at
Tokyo
9. The uncertain legacy of crimes against peace
Postscript